David Ross has NSFW response to MLB punishing Cubs after throwing at Brandon Woodruff
By Josh Hill
Chicago Cubs manager David Ross is letting MLB know exactly how he feels about the suspensions it handed out — and the ones it didn’t.
An effort by MLB to put an end to the ongoing drama between the Cubs and Brewers has only added fuel to the inferno.
If you’ve missed it, the feud between the division rivals stems from the fact that Cubs catcher Willson Contreras has been hit three times in six games against the Brewers this season. For full context, Contreras has been hit by a pitch 12 times in 72 career games against Milwaukee.
Chicago cleared its benches back on April 6th following Contreras getting hit for the second time in two nights but refused to retaliate further. When Contreras was hit again on Tuesday in Milwaukee the Cubs finally bit back.
Reliever Ryan Tepera threw behind Brewers reliever Brandon Woodruff in an effort to send another message to Milwaukee’s clubhouse. Contreras sent a message of his own by hitting a home run but it appears MLB received Chicago’s message the loudest.
Rather than punish the Brewers for their part in the ongoing feud, MLB suspended Ross for Friday’s game against the Braves, and handed out a three-game ban to Tepera for throwing behind Woodruff.
Contreras was fined for his role in the April 6th benches-clearing altercation, yet the Brewers have not yet received punishment from MLB.
David Ross goes on a rant after MLB punishes Cubs
Needless to say, Ross was less than pleased with the league’s assessment of who deserves blame and punishment.
“It’s just a little confusing to me from my seat,” Ross said, via 670 The Score in Chicago. “I have a hard time understanding it. I have a hard time understanding a lot of what’s come down from Major League Baseball, but it’s out of my control. I’ve voiced my displeasures to the power that be and we’ll move on.”
Ross was, in fact, not ready to move on and was only getting started with his rant.
“This is a ball that got pulled down around (Woodruff’s) calf. Like, we’re talking about a middle-of-the-order bat for us that’s got hit in the head, hit in the hand, around his face. Our starting pitcher (Alec Mills) actually during that game got thrown up and in around his face. You know, since I’ve been here, we lead the league in getting hit by pitches and it’s not even close, the second one, and we’ve never intentionally retaliated to my knowledge.
“We threw one behind the guy’s calf and we got suspensions and fines everywhere. That makes zero (expletive) sense to me.”
The Cubs welcome Milwaukee back to Wrigley Field on Apil 25th, and based on the reaction from Ross it’s doubtful that MLB handing out suspensions will mark the end of the feud.